"...why the hell do you need a backup copy? yeah, i know they're nice - heck, i have a laptop and would love to NOT have to take the disc with me...but try using the CD as it was intended and not as a frisbee - they last a long time!
geez, i've had music CDs, some for 13 years with TONS of play, and they still sound great. just try taking care of your stuff. my guess is, you'll recieve no sympathy here. let 'er rip boys......"
Whoever posted this comment obviously doesn't have kids. Simply put, my kids will destroy a disc in less than a few days and having backups is the only way they can play a game that I paid 50 bucks for. That said, the issue with intellectual property is that the disc (that is, the piece of round laminated plastic) is not the intellectual property, but rather the software code that is imprinted on it. That's why downloading copies of this is illegal. That much almost anyone can agree on. However, software companies want to have their cake and eat it. Once I've tendered my money and have an access number, I AM a licensed user. I should be able to go to Larian's web site and download a fresh copy to recover the data from my destroyed disc.
Software companies don't address this. If someone has paid for a license, why is there no way for the publisher to allow you access to the material if your copy was destroyed? Answer? They don't believe it any more than you do. They treat these things as point of sale obligations only, that is, once it breaks, then you have to buy a new one. So if that's the case, then it isn't much defense against someone copying a disc under fair use rules. They HAVE to allow you to back it up because they themselves don't offer any other way.
Ralph
